Officials Say Firefighters Are in Control of Forest Blaze

A long-awaited rain in Adigeni district on August 19 helped firefighters gain control of the largest forest fire in Georgia for 20 years, which has reportedly destroyed at least 500 hectares of forest, officials said.

Earlier on August 19 Ukrainian fire-fighting helicopters joined Turkish planes that were already assisting the Georgian authorities in battling the forest fire in south of the country.

?Now the situation is completely under control and work is now underway to battle the remaining blaze inside the fire perimeter,? Environment Minister Davit Tkeshelashvili said.